Looks like work may have finally started again at the Whole Foods Store. A construction trailer and several of those big metal containers have been parked next to the store. And the parking lot in front of the store has been fenced off.

I'm back!!!! Yes, permits have been pulled for Whole Foods. It's a go which is nice to see. That shopping center is dead on weekends and in the evening so it'll be nice to have some activity when WF opens.

^^^I had high hopes for that Pollo Tropical, but was thoroughly disappointed. I had previously heard good things about the chain, but I felt the flavor was a but underwhelming for what I was expecting. Not bad, just bland. I don't see myself going back there any time soon. Too many good places to eat over here.

Interestingly, I also read the other day that Fiesta Group is closing a few Pollo Tropical stores for under performing. Nobody likes to see a restaurant close, but if it brings in something better, that would be welcome.

muncien wrote:^^^I had high hopes for that Pollo Tropical, but was thoroughly disappointed. I had previously heard good things about the chain, but I felt the flavor was a but underwhelming for what I was expecting. Not bad, just bland. I don't see myself going back there any time soon. Too many good places to eat over here.

Interestingly, I also read the other day that Fiesta Group is closing a few Pollo Tropical stores for under performing. Nobody likes to see a restaurant close, but if it brings in something better, that would be welcome.

I have eaten at Pollo twice now and to be honest I can't see myself going back soon. As you mentioned I was completely underwhelmed and the food was so bland. I was also disappointed that the interior finish out seemed to be quite a bit cheaper than the location they had just opened in Southlake. Speaking of which, Pollo gutted the old Steak N Shake location in Southlake. It was open maybe a year and fell victim to the recent closings. YIKES! I wouldn't be totally bummed if they converted the LC location to a Taco Cabana. The TC up on Beltline and 635 is just a bit too far to go grab a quick bite or breakfast tacos...

If you haven't been by the Irving Music Factory yet, the scope is actually much bigger than it looks in the renderings. Just the band shell / stage for the Live Nation Pavilion, which is going up, is quite a bit larger than I thought. Anticipated opening is Labor Day Weekend 2017.

I have eaten at Pollo twice now and to be honest I can't see myself going back soon.

I think the spices are pretty unique (curry mustard, some others instead of generic tex-mex salsas like all the rest), but other than that it's a bit too close to a Taco Cabana clone. Not sure why it needed to be a separate restaurant instead of just an additional option at Cabana.

With its rolling hills and native Texas mesquite trees, perhaps it was no wonder Irving-based Pioneer Natural Resources USA Inc. (NYSE: PXD) wanted to keep that Texas heritage alive as it moved forward on designs for the new $100 million campus.

The new campus, totaling about 900,000 square feet, will sit within two 8- to 10-story towers connected by a main hub in the central that will help bring the company's nearly 1,100 employees together.

^^ That's pretty great news for Irving and for the start of the Hidden Ridge Development. It'll be nice to see how the entire project develops and how the retail & residential component materializes. Exciting stuff for LC with this , Irving Music Factory and Water Street. I could easily walk to all 3!

I thought it'd be cool had Pioneer decided to stay in the Urban Center and built a new high-rise. Instead of two 8-10 story buildings I would love to have seen a 20 story building. They could have located it on the lake within the proposed North Shore development and really got that development going! But this is exciting!!!

On another note, I was running by the Irving / Las Colinas Chamber offices on Sunday (corner of O'Connor and LC Blvd). They have some big pretty renderings in the lobby of Water Street, Hidden Ridge and the Music Factory. I was peeking through the window. At the back of the lobby something caught my eye, it was 2 renderings for something called Urban Towers II. Or at least that's what I could make of it. Looked to be about 15-20 stories on the lot next to Urban Towers.

The Urban Center could use a corporate boost. But other than a couple of lots, I'd prefer to get a lot of mid-rise residential going, with retail at ground level... particularly along north shore. I actually like most of their plan, but would appreciate a few more floors to it all. The density is just not quite there in the current proposals. With Urban Center residential occupancy rates still in the stratosphere, I can't believe we haven't see taller stuff coming on line. It doesn't have to be owner occupied as I know folks are hesitant to invest in such a lousy school district, but mid-rise rentals should do well.

Really curious about that Urban Towers II dealio... It may be nothing, but you never know. A lot of these developments originally had 'twins' in their original proposals (back in the 80's), but I don't see any such plans for this building, so I suspect it must be fairly recent.

^^ Yes, it does appear to be recent and modern. Everything they have in the lobby is recent and or projects that they're specifically working on or trying to attract. You're right, it could be nothing as typically is the case. I couldn't find any info on it. Maybe I'll walk by one day and go into the lobby and look around and ask some questions (or send the chamber an email).

Kelley USA wrote:I'm back!!!! Yes, permits have been pulled for Whole Foods. It's a go which is nice to see. That shopping center is dead on weekends and in the evening so it'll be nice to have some activity when WF opens.

Right now, it seems like Modern Market is doing very well. Haven't tried it yet.

I did try Pollo, I wouldn't call it terrible, but it definitely did not blow me away and I have no desire to go back.

How much space is left in this shopping center? Modern Market and Zoe's Kitchen are good additions, but the rest of the tenant lineup is less than stellar. I'm hoping some better tenants come along to fill the remaining spaces.

I did try Pollo, I wouldn't call it terrible, but it definitely did not blow me away and I have no desire to go back.

How much space is left in this shopping center? Modern Market and Zoe's Kitchen are good additions, but the rest of the tenant lineup is less than stellar. I'm hoping some better tenants come along to fill the remaining spaces.

Unfortunately there's only about 4K sq ft of space left right next to Whole Foods and 1 pad site at the front next to Pollo... Instead of really thinking about the quality of the development and tenant mix, the leasing agents and developer pretty much leased as quick as they could and collected the commission. And don't get me started on the crap job they've done with the landscaping. It's embarrassing!

The Chamber was nice enough to email me back regarding the proposed office tower. Here's the scoop... It's called Urban Towers III, only 11 stories, 310K sq ft, scheduled to start in 2017 if they can get it 50% pre-leased. We know how that goes! Not sure whom the developer is but surprised they haven't reached out to DBJ or DMN to get some pub on it as we so often see...

Good info. thx. I've been digging around architecture sites to try to find something (normally, when trying to lease a new office building you try to show off some fancy renderings), but I haven't been able to find anything.I have no issue with 11 stories at all. I think that's just the scale we need in the Urban Center going forward. I wish them luck...

"The site has lot of lake frontage," said Legacy Partners' Spencer Stuart. "It will be 17 or 18 stories with a great view across the lake and views of downtown Dallas."Stuart said the tower will be surrounded by 4-story apartments in the same development.

If this moves forward (and there's no reason it shouldn't), it would be FANTASTIC for Las Colinas. There are two lots on that end that are along the water. Not sure which one it is, but I suspect it's the one further south. I have always thought they should be residential instead of office and going 17/18 floors would be perfect. This is just what the Urban Center needs.

Many of you doubted it but I knew it was just a matter of time before someone realized the opportunity here in LC. There is definitely a market for this! This is the reason you stop giving all your prime spots away for basic 4-5 story apartment complexes.

Glad they went rental... I think it'll be a hit, and this is EXACTLY what I expected for Water Street I think some of the other condo tower proposals would have had a hard time and probably set a bad precedent for tall residential here. But this on the other hand should provide a shot in the arm, as well as add more life to the Promenade (something office is unable to do). I'd like to see the remaining lake/canal lots go mid-rise residential, and the few remaining stand alone lots remain commercial. But, you are right... this certainly gives the counsel more leverage when denying the shorter stuff, which shouldn't go anywhere but North of Promenade Parkway at this point. North Shore better poo or get off the pot.

^^ All assuming they pull the trigger and actually build it. But totally agree with you on giving the council more leverage! Maybe this will spur Gables to think about doing a high-rise on the vacant lot next to Water Street with some additional ground floor retail. I know it's a long shot, but would love to have a Trader Joe's or an Eatzi's anchor that corner development when the time comes.

As for the proposed high-rise above, man, what a gorgeous piece of property they bought. The views across the lake towards the Urban Center are really nice!

It looks like Bar Louie has been added to the mix for Irving Music Factory. There's going to be some tough competition for customers between Bar Louie, YardHouse and Thirsty Lion Gastropub. They basically all have a similar concept with similar menu. Whomever has a better patio and better drink specials may get a leg up! : )

Here's a YouTube video that I came across regarding Eco Dev in Las Colinas. At about the 3:20 mark you can see a rendering for the proposed Urban Tower III. Although it does appear to be about 17-20 stories instead of the 11 the Chamber had indicated...

Thx for the link. Based on that rendering, Tower III would actually replace the parking lot fronting the 114 frontage road on the existing Urban Towers property, as opposed to the adjacent lot next door. For some reason I thought it was the other way around. It would be good as the current Urban Towers are starting to show their age and a new/contrasting design aspect built into the campus would help revitalize it. Also, it's positioning could help the existing campus integrate better with the new Music Factory as they are now currently separated by one of the largest parking garages I've ever seen. Hopefully this one goes somewhere. I had a friend who was highly recruited by a tenant there a couple years ago. It seemed they were in expansion mode at the time, although he never joined... so I don't have any further dirt on that.

This also leaves the door open for something else on that highly visible O'conner/Las Colinas blvd intersection.

The Irving Art Center has a cameo in that video, but I'm wondering what-if that moves into the expanding heart of the Urban Center... close to the Convention Center rail station, and then starts on a course like the DMA, getting bigger and better. Economic impact on Irving would be great especially if Las Colinas becomes another major DFW art destination. Fort Worth and Dallas already have a place nationally, and should Irving grow another major component the possibilities are exciting. hum.

Yes, Cafe Herrera is the latest restaurant to commit. They will be taking 1 of 2 spots on the water, the other is The Londoner Pub. I think Cafe Herrera is a good addition for Water Street. Although I will say the timeline seems a bit off to me. This development is already ahead of the Irving Music Factory which anticipates fully opening in September. 90% of the retail framing is already up at Water Street so I can't see this still being a year away??

I am glad to see that it will have "hiking trails and a small pond." However, this means that no more Pioneer employees will fall into Lake Carolyn while they are jogging . While staying in the Urban Center would have been great, it makes sense and I hope the new headquarters gets many of the amenities that Midland employees already enjoy.

I saw a survey crew out on the lot behind Chammps today. Not sure if it's going to amount to anything. There was a truck drilling cores about six or eight months ago on the same site. I can't imagine anyone building any new restaurants from scratch over here with everything at Water Street and the Music Factory coming online in the not too distant future. Possibly more retail? Tough location with it being boxed out by Chammps now. Who knows...

I saw that too, and they do have it staked off... But you're right, over the past 8 years I've probably seen someone drilling on that lot 4 or 5 times. There was a previous proposal that had it slated for about 10K sq ft of new restaurant space. My guess would be a freestanding restaurant but who knows. I'll keep an eye on anything that might come before P&Z.

On another note, signage is going up today at Whole Foods. Looks good!

Okay muncien, I have an answer for you. I emailed the leasing agent for the Las Colinas Village shopping center to see if he had an idea. He was kind enough to reply back right away. He said a hotel will be going up on that site.

Kelley USA wrote:Okay muncien, I have an answer for you. I emailed the leasing agent for the Las Colinas Village shopping center to see if he had an idea. He was kind enough to reply back right away. He said a hotel will be going up on that site.

Wow... Didn't see that coming. Thanks for digging up the details! Seems like a tight space for a hotel, and with eight (yes, there's at least eight) smaller scale hotels just across the freeway, it'll be stiff competition. But, I'm glad to see these smaller lots filling in.

A little off topic... But, I'm curious how long Exxon Mobile plans on holding onto all that land surrounding their World HQ...

Kelley USA wrote:Okay muncien, I have an answer for you. I emailed the leasing agent for the Las Colinas Village shopping center to see if he had an idea. He was kind enough to reply back right away. He said a hotel will be going up on that site.

Wow... Didn't see that coming. Thanks for digging up the details! Seems like a tight space for a hotel, and with eight (yes, there's at least eight) smaller scale hotels just across the freeway, it'll be stiff competition. But, I'm glad to see these smaller lots filling in.

A little off topic... But, I'm curious how long Exxon Mobile plans on holding onto all that land surrounding their World HQ...

Possibly forever? I can't imagine any investor fretting over a sale and leaseback with a balance sheet like Exxons.

Kelley USA wrote:Okay muncien, I have an answer for you. I emailed the leasing agent for the Las Colinas Village shopping center to see if he had an idea. He was kind enough to reply back right away. He said a hotel will be going up on that site.

I wonder what brand it will be. A hotel seems like an odd choice here, but at least, with the shopping center there, guest will have several decent eating/drinking options to WALK to. That's an amenity few, if any, hotels have in the Irving area.

They have a great piece of property, and all the wooded areas surrounding their main building are beautiful. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they intend to keep it.

There are a few reasons why I bring it up...* Both JC Penny and Verizon have found ways to turn their surplus land into $$$, all while improving the work environment for themselves.* With their North American HQ build out down south, it seems any notion of holding it for that purpose is gone.* Someone previously mentioned that they had bought up a bunch of surrounding property when Cowboy's stadium plans were floated nearby way back in the day. That motivation is obviously pointless today.

It really is a big chunk of land... It seems to me that the Norther section along Royal would be ripe for selling off for development, as well as the eastern section along Colwell. Both areas have seen recent development and currently have construction underway across the street.

But, what I would like to see most would be an easement granted along the creek that runs through the southern section that could allow a trail connection that links Campion Trail, the Urban Center, with the area up along Macarthur, and all the way along those surrounding canals.

Any combination of those above changes would leave the immediately adjacent land untouched yet still provide some benefits for them and the locals. Just talking out loud I suppose... I stare out the 9th floor window at that property all day long and it continues to surprise me that it remains as is.